Dispensing carton suitable for plastic bags and the like



K. T. BUTTERY 3,395,83Q

DISPENSING CARTON SUITABLE FOR PLASTIC BAGS AND THE LIKE Aug. 6, 1968 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed April 18, 1966 Md m j T m m n Aug. 6, 1968 K. T. BUTTERY 3,395,830

DISPENSING CARTON SUITABLE FOR PLASTIC BAGS AND THE LIKE Original Filed April 18, 1966 5 Sheets-Shet z K. T. BUTTERY Aug. 6, 1968 DISPENSING CARTON SUITABLE FOR PLASTIC BAGS AND THE LIKE 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Original Filed April 18, 1966 i- 5, 1968 y K. T. BUTTERY 3,395,830

DISPENSING CARTON SUITABLE FOR PLASTIC BAGS AND THE LIKE 5 Sheets-Sheet Original Filed April 18. 1966 J \lfi .w x. i o 5 J) 1)) .l.. l u

fir eza 21B iiezzy Aug. 6, 1968 K. T. BUTTERY 3,395,830

DISPENSING CARTON SUITABLE FOR PLASTIC BAGS AND THE LIKE Original Filed April 18, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 United States Patent 3,395,830 DISPENSING CARTON SUITABLE FOR PLASTIC BAGS AND THE LIKE Kenneth T. Buttery, Kalamazoo, Mich., assignor to Brown Company, Kalamazoo, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Original application Apr. 18, 1966, Ser. No. 543,221. Divided and this application May 26, 1967, Ser. No. 652,364

2 Claims. (Cl. 221-63) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Apparatus for dispensing singly thin slippery sheetform articles. An inverted U-shaped resilient insert, around which the articles are folded, presents the outermost article to a dispensing slot formed in an enclosing carton.

The present invention relates to dispensing cartons, and is more particularly concerned with cartons for dispensing discrete sheets or items of thin sheet material, especially of plastic, such as sheets, lunch bags, sandwich bags, disposable garbage bags and linens, and the like.

This application is a division of application Ser. No. 543,221, now abandoned, which is in turn a continuationin-part of my copending application Ser. No. 439,292, filed Mar. 12, 1965, now Patent No. 3,309,834, which in turn is a division of application Ser. No. 314,025, now US. Patent No. 3,195,772.

Plastic film or sheet material such as polyethylene film is currently enjoying wide popularity for many applications. The popularity of these sheets or films is well deserved since the material even in thin film form is strong, highly transparent, and relatively inexpensive. Moreover, the material is sanitary and lends itself well to use in food packaging. Consequently, one of the most important uses of plastic film is in the production of food wrappers such as sandwich bags, lunch bags, disposable garbage bags such as garbage can liners, and the like. However, because of the extreme thinness of the material, and frequently also its relatively slippery nature, discrete sheets, either alone or in the form of bags, are somewhat difiicult to package and even more diflicult to dispense from economical containers.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a dispensing carton which is particularly well adapted for packaging and dispensing discrete sheets of plastic material such as plastic bags. It is a further object to provide such a carton which may be readily filled by means of automatic machinery. It is a further object to provide such a carton having means provided for being readily opened. It is still a further object to provide a dispensing carton which retains plastic film sheets or bags in ready position for dispensing, and wherein individual bags may be readily withdrawn from the carton. It is an additional object to provide a carton of the type described which may be readily and economically constructed from an integral cut and scored blank. It is still an additional object to provide a dispensing carton which may be used to package plastic bags which are rather large, and which must be folded several times in order to package them into a carton of convenient size. The accomplishment of the foregoing and additional objects will become more fully apparent hereinafter.

The invention in several preferred embodiments is illustrated by the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a blank cut and scored to provide a dispensing carton according to one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a cardboard insert member or diaphragm according to the invention having a plurality of plastic bags positioned thereover, prior to bowing the insert member and inserting the assembly into the carton.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the carton after it has been erected, loaded, and sealed.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken at the line 44 of FIG. 3 showing the arrangement of the contents within the loaded carton.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a blank cut and scored to provide a dispensing carton according to another embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a cardboard insert member according to the invention having a plurality of plastic bags positioned thereover, prior to bowing the insert member and inserting the assembly into the carton.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the carton of FIGS. 5 and 6 after it has been erected, loaded, and sealed.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken at the line 8-8 of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a blank cut and scored to provide a dispensing carton according to a further embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of an insert member for use with the carton of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the carton of FIG. 9 after it has been erected but before being loaded and sealed.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken at the line 1212 of the carton of FIG. 11 after loading and sealmg.

FIG. 13 is a plan view of a blank cut and scored to provide a dispensing carton according to a further embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 14 is a plan view of a cardboard insert member for use with the carton of FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the carton after it has been erected, loaded, and sealed; and

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view taken at the line 16-16 of FIG. 15 showing the arrangement of the contents within the loaded carton.

According to the invention, a dispensing carton is provided having means for forming an exit slot in a panel thereof. A plurality of sheet-form members such as plastic sheets or bags which are to be loaded into and dispensed from the carton are placed in a pile. An insert member of a resilient material such as cardboard or other suitable material which exhibits resilience is placed over the pile of sheet-form members. Where the ends of the sheet-form members extend beyond the ends of the cardboard insert member, the ends of the sheetform members are folded over the ends of the insert member. The insert member is then folded over or bowed so that the continuous portion of the sheet-form members remains on the outside of the bowed insert member. The assembly is inserted into a carton in such manner that the apex or arcuate portion of the bowed arrangement is presented at or near the exit slot, while the edges forming the base of the folded or bowed figure are disposed at or near a panel positioned opposite the area defining the exit slot. As a result, the resilience of the insert member maintains the sheet-form members in position with the folds at the apex or arcuate portion of the bow presented at or near the situs of the exit slot. When the panel defining the exit slot is removed, individual sheet-form members may be readily removed by inserting the fingers and grasping the sheet-form member at or near the folds positioned at the apex of the bow. Individual sheet-form members may be consecutively removed, with subsequent sheet-form members uncovered and maintained in position by the' bowed insert member for ready removal.

Reference is now made to the accompanying drawings for a better understanding of the invention, wherein all of the parts are numbered and wherein the same numbers are used to refer to corresponding parts throughout.

FIGS. 1-4 illustrate an embodiment of the invention which is suitable for packaging and dispensing large plastic bags such as disposable garbage bags or garbage can liners. Referring to FIG. 1, an integral blank for forming the carton is shown comprising a top panel 1 having side panels 2 and 3 hingedly connected thereto. A bottom panel 4 is hingedly connected to the side panel 3. The side panel 2 is provided with glue flaps 5 hingedly -con nected to the ends thereof, each flap containing preapplied adhesive, and a glue flap 6 hingedly connected to the side edge of the side panel 2 to which an adhesive is applied immediately after filling the carton. Alternatively, conventional adhesive may be applied to the flaps when the carton is formed. The side panel 3 is provided with end flaps 7 each having a dust flap 8 hingedly connected thereto. The top panel 1 is provided with glue flaps 9, one hingedly connected to each end thereof. The top panel is provided with a tear strip 10 medially located and comprised of a plurality of V-shaped slits 11, straight slits 12 defining an enlarged central portion 13, and arcuate slits 14 and 15 defining tabs 16 and 17.

The carton is partially assembled by folding and gluing the glue flaps 5 and 9 to the end Walls 7. A plurality of plastic sheets or bags 18 are then placed in a pile. A rectangular paperboard or cardboard insert member 19 is placed over the center portion of the pile, and the ends of the pile are folded over the insert member as shown in FIG. 2. One edge of the assembly is then folded over toward the other edge, as shown by the arrows in FIG. 2. The assembly is then inserted into the carton with the bowed or arcuate portion disposed at and engaging the top panel 1. The flap 6 is then glued to the bottom panel 4, thereby sealing the carton. The carton is prepared for dispensing by grasping the tab 16 and removing the tear strip 10, thereby providing an exit slot having an enlarged finger port formed by the enlarged portion 13. This results in the structure shown in cross-section in FIG. 4. The bags may be readily grasped by inserting the fingers through the finger port of the exit slot formed by the removal of the enlarged portion 13 of the tear strip. As each bag is grasped and drawn out, the ends of the bag which are folded about the edges of the insert member readily slide out without disarranging the remaining bags. As each successive bag is removed, the next bag is presented in position ready for removal.

Although in the preferred embodiment, particularly in the embodiment used for large bags, a centrally disposed exit slot is preferred, for certain applications the exit slot may be disposed at the edge of the top panel, or even at the edge of a side panel. FIGS. 5-8 illustrate a dispensing carton according to the invention having a tear strip for forming an exit port positioned at the edge of the top panel. The integral blank for forming the carton is shown in FIG. 5 and comprises a top panel 20, side panels 21 and 22 hingedly connected thereto, and a bottom panel 23 hingedly connected to the edge of the side panel 22. The top panel is provided with glue flaps 24 having adhesive applied thereto and the side panel 23 is provided with glue flaps 25 having adhesive provided on one surface thereof and hingedly connected to the ends of the bottom panel 23. A glue flap 26 is hingedly connected to the bottom panel 23 and is coated with an adhesive prior to scaling the carton. Theside panel 22 is provided with end wall panels 27 each having a dust flap 28 hingedly connected to the end thereof. The top panel is provided with severance lines 29 as by slitting or perforation, defining a tear strip 30. One end of the tear strip is slit to provide a readily engagcable tab 31. The severance lines 29 are provided with arcuate excursions 32 and 33. The excursion 32 extends centrally within the top panel 20, while the excursion 33 extends centrally within the side panel 21. The excursions 32 and 33 define an enlarged portion 34 of the tear strip 30.

In erecting the carton, the flaps 24 and 25 are folded over and adhesively affixed to the end wall panels 27. The bags 35 are placed about a rectangular insert member 36, shown in FIG. 6, and the assembly bowed in the direction indicated by the arrows and inserted into the carton with the bowed portion disposed toward the top panel. The carton is then sealed by adhesively affixing the flap 26 to the side panel 21, to form the carton shown in FIG. 7.

To prepare the carton for dispensing individual bags, the tab 31 is grasped and the tear strip 30 removed to form an exit slot having a finger port extending into the panel 21 at the severance line 33 and extending into the top panel 20 at the severance line 32. The fingers may be inserted through the finger port and a bag grasped at the fold supported by the arcuate portion of the insert member 36. Individual bags may be readily removed, with succeeding bags presented in position at the exit slot for ready removal.

FIGS. 9-12 illustrate an embodiment wherein the tear strip which is to be removed to form the exit slot is disposed at the edge of a side panel. Referring to FIG. 9, a blank is illustrated which is cut and scored to provide a side panel 40 having a top panel 41 and a bottom panel 42 hingedly connected thereto. An end wall panel 43 having glue flaps 44 is hingedly connected to the side panel 40. Another end panel 45 having glue flaps 46 is hingedly connected to the other end of the side panel 40, and is provided with glue flaps 46. Another side panel 47 is hingedly connected to the end panel 45 and is provided with glue flaps 48 and 49. A partially erected carton is shown in FIG. 11 in condition for loading.

In loading the carton, a plurality of plastic bags, shown in FIG. 12, are arranged in a pile and an insert member 52, shown in FIG. 10, is placed thereover. The assembly is bowed as illustrated in FIG. 6 of the previous embodiment and placed in the carton with the bowed portion positioned at the top. The carton is then sealed with the bowed portion of the assembly engaging the top panel 41 of the carton. The arrangement within the carton is illustrated in cross-section in FIG. 12. The side panel 40 is provided with a tear strip 53 formed by two parallel spaced-apart severance lines 54 having an arcuate excursion 55 provided in the top panel 41. A tab 56 is formed by an arcuate excursion into the end panel 45.

To prepare the carton for dispensing, the tab 56 is grasped and the tear strip 53 removed, providing an exit slot having an enlarged finger port resulting from the removal of the portion of the top panel 41 defined by the excursion 55. The arrangement showing the presence of an exit slot provided by the removal of the tear strip and the positioning of the bags and insert member is shown in FIG. 12 To remove individual bags, it is only necessary to insert the fingers through the finger port or enlarged portion of the exit slot, grasp the uppermost bag and remove it through the exit slot, as described in greater detail above.

The embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 13-16 is similar to that described above, but differs in that the erected carton has a triangular cross-section. As shown in FIG. 13, the blank from which the carton is formed is comprised of side panels 60, 61 and 62 hingedly connected, and end panels 63 hingedly connected to the ends of the side panel 62. The side panel 61 is provided with glue flaps 64, the end wall panels 63 are provided with glue flaps 65, and the side wall panel 62 is provided with a glue flap 66. The carton is erected in conventional manner. Prior to sealing, a plurality of bags 67, shown in FIG. 16, are placed about an insert member 68, shown in FIG. 14, and the assembly bowed and inserted into the carton. The sealed form of the carton is shown in FIG. 15. A tear strip 69 defined by severance lines 70 is provided in one of the panels. Tear strip excursions 71 and 72 are provided in the panels 60 and 61, respectively. A tab 73 is provided at least at one end of the tear strip. To prepare the carton for dispensing, the tab 73 is grasped and the tear strip 69 removed, thereby providing an exit port. The resulting structure is shown in cross-section in FIG. 16. Individual bags may be removed by inserting the fingers through the finger port provided by the removal of the panels defined by the excursion lines 71 and 72. The fold of a bag may then be grasped and readily withdrawn from the carton. The folds of successive bags are presented for removal as each bag is taken out. The resilient properties of the bowed insert member enable it to continue to present the arcuate folds of the remaining bags at the exit slot even after a substantial number have been removed.

In designing dispensing cartons according to the invention, the width of the insert member should preferably be substantially the same as the width of the bags which it is to support, although considerable variation is permissible. The length of the insert member should be substantially greater than the width of one side of the carton. For many applications, and particularly when cartons having a rectangular cross-section are used, the insert member may advantageously have a length greater than the width of two sides of the carton, as shown in FIGS. 4, 8, and 12, so that the insert member is retained in arcuate form by the carton Walls. When the width of the insert member is of the proper size, the arcuate configuration which the insert member is forced to assume in order to allow entry into the carton causes the fold of supported material at the edge thereof to be properly presented at the exit slot formed upon removal of the tear strip of the carton, and to provide sufiicient resilience to maintain the fold in proper orientation until all of the bags have been dispensed from the carton.

The present invention solves the problem involved in loading and packaging thin sheet-form material, including plastic sheets, plastic film bags, and the like, caused by their extreme thinness, light weight, limpness, and slippery nature. It enables these materials to be readily loaded into cartons of convenient size Without the need for expensive or complicated machinery. The invention particularly solves the problem of packaging very large plastic bags or sheets such as disposable garbage bags within a carton of modest size. Because of the arrangement, a pile of large size bags may be placed over the insert member and its ends doubled back over the ends of the insert member and into the chamber defined by the bowed insert member. In fact, if the bags are of a particularly large length, the ends of the bags may be doubled back over themselves within the bowed cavity until the cavity is substantially full. Because of the low degree of frictional resistance offered by the surface of the sheet-form plastic bags, and because the bags may be placed uniformly over the insert member, even large bags may be readily removed by grasping them at the fold supported by the apex of the bow and removed from the pile and from the carton without disturbing the remaining bags. The cartons may be readily opened for dispensing the contents. Moreover, the sheet-form material is always maintained in the proper presentation position at the exit slot for ready removal of individual sheets or bags.

Although, in the embodiments illustrated in the foregoing description and drawings, the tear strip and finger port means are provided on particularly described panels, it is obvious that they may alternatively be provided on other adjacent pairs of panels. It is also obvious that the carton may be placed in any one of numerous positions for dispensing the contents thereof, the terms top, bottom, etc., being used herein merely for convenience in describing the invention. For example, although the carton of FIG. 7 is shown with the panel 20 as the top panel and the panel 23 as the bottom panel, the carton could also be positioned with the panel 22 as the bottom panel, in which case the tear strip would be disposed at the upper edge of a side panel. Alternatively, the carton could be disposed with the panel 21 as the bottom panel, in which case the tear strip 30 would be disposed at the lower edge of a side panel.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact details of construction, operation, or exact materials or embodiments shown and described, as obvious modifications and equivalents will be apparent to one skilled in the art, and the invention is therefore to be lim ited only by the scope of the appended claims, in which the term sheet-form articles is to be understood as including not only sheets themselves but also articles, e.g., bags, formed from sheets.

I claim:

1. A dispensing carton of the single-use type containing a plurality of thin sheet-form articles of a slippery nature to be dispensed therefrom in readily dispensable position, said carton having a plurality of main and end panels defining an enclosure, and means in said carton for providing an exit slot for said sheet-form articles, a separate sheet-form insert member of paperboard or cardboard having a length greater than the Width of any single main panel of said carton being contained in said carton in resiliently bowed inverted U position having an arcuate portion disposed at said exit slot means and having its ends disposed at the bottom of the carton adjacent the corners of the carton opposite the exit slot means, said sheet-form articles being of a length greater than that of said insert member and being folded about said arcuate portion and disposed along the sides of said insert member and the ends thereof being disposed in a storage space provided by and between the legs of said insert member whereby, when said exit slot is provided, the fold of each sheet-form article may be successively engaged and the sheetform articles extracted from said carton and from around the ends of said insert member.

2. A method of filling a dispensing carton of the singleuse type having a plurality of main and end panels defining an enclosure, with a plurality of thin sheet-form articles of a slippery nature, said carton having means for providing an exit slot, said method comprising placing a separate substantially rectangular insert member of cardboard or paperboard having a length greater than the width of any single main carton panel in engagement with said sheet-form articles, said sheet-form articles being of a length greater than that of said insert member, resiliently bowing said insert member and sheet-form articles in a direction so as to fold said sheet-form articles over the arcuate portion of said insert member caused by said bowing thereof and distribute them about the external surface of said insert member, around the ends thereof, and into the space between said ends, inserting said insert member and said folded sheet-form articles into said carton in an inverted U position with the arcuate fold of said sheet-form articles disposed at said means for providing an exit slot and the ends of said insert member at the bottom of said carton adjacent the corners of the carton opposite the exit slot means and with the ends of said thin sheet-form articles located in the storage space provided by and between said ends of said insert member, and closing said carton.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 374,586 12/1887 Dana 22l63 2,118,380 5/1938 Gresenz 221-48 2,592,255 4/ 1952 Drees 22l58 2,598,050 5/1952 Guyer 22l52 X 2,761,584 9/1956 Johnson et a1 22l63 3,012,692 12/1961 Peterson 22l63 3,144,961 8/ 1964 Phenner 22l48 3,243,079 3/ 1966 Rettmer 22l63 3,249,255 5/1966 Cohen 22l63 SAMUEL F. COLEMAN, Primary Examiner. 

